


An Unexpected Consequence of Foolry

by thundrstormy



Category: Half-Life, Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Barney exists in this universe and so does everyone in Half-Life canon, Benrey plays P5R because i'm projecting, Benrey uses he/him and they/them pronouns, Black Mesa Sweet Voice, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Nonsense, Character Study, Domestic, Dreams and Nightmares, Eldritch Benrey, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Exploring Benrey's species in depth, False Memories, G-Man is a good dad, M/M, Mental Breakdown, No idea how to write these characters but I'm working on it!, No one in this fic is Neurotypical, POV Alternating, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death, Trans Character, persona 5 royal spoilers, video game references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:08:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25703344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thundrstormy/pseuds/thundrstormy
Summary: No one expected Benrey to live. No one expected him to suddenly show up in Gordon's living room. Benrey was supposed to die on Xen. He did die.And then he woke up.--A fic based on reoccurring dreams I've had over the months of June & July.
Relationships: Barney Calhoun & Benrey, Barney Calhoun & Gordon Freeman, Barney Calhoun/Gordon Freeman (dream), Benrey & Tommy Coolatta, Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Tommy Coolatta/Darnold
Comments: 9
Kudos: 134





	1. The Void is Fleeting, and So are You

**Author's Note:**

> I was finally able to write the first chapter for this fic. If there's any errors in my spelling or grammar please forgive me I haven't written fanfiction in 3 years at the most. I don't remember.
> 
> Anyways if you want updates go follow my tumblr: https://thundrstormy.tumblr.com/  
> Or... if your a nerd, go follow my twitter: https://twitter.com/thundrstormy
> 
> Edit: Added a few sentences & fixed some errors.

The first thought that popped into his head as he awoke was: I knew this would happen. 

It’s disappointing when you’re proven right.

This sucked. He propped himself up, a bit peeved. The black slick surface he was laying on was cold to the touch, but it had a feel of… grass almost. But it was not grass at all. Weird. Benrey stared at the area with a puzzled look. This was the void…. Huh. He… really didn’t remember anything. Like there was a gap in his memory.

All that he really remembered was excruciating pain… and then falling. Falling down and down into a deep and great darkness. He knew he had fought stupid Feetman and the Science Team… but he didn’t know anything other than that. Vague memories of a monologue, skeletons, yelling, and… pain. He didn’t remember anything else. Strange. His memory was usually sound. His head was beginning to hurt just trying to remember shit. Oh well. No turning back from that. What was he supposed to do except let the void swallow him whole, memories and all till he forgot everything? 

He lost the battle. He died, and he wasn’t getting a happy ending. He wasn’t trying to get one. And he was fine with that. He couldn’t die again… could he? Yeah. No way. He was good just chilling here in the void.

The dark expanse of black and the cold iciness in the air was…. lonely though. He wouldn’t admit that though. It was cool. He could deal with it. But his shivering still went on despite his insistence. No, it was not cool. Nor was it fine. Had to live with it. Just how things were now. The creatures of the void, black as the ground they walked, stared at the former security guard with a disinterested look, scurrying off once he looked back at them. Guess he startled them by walking too close. At least those creatures had each other. He had… no one. Not even himself. 

The security guard stared into the void with a blank look. As if he accepted his circumstance. But the haunting sound of his voice and the bubbles of the Sweet Voice produced: gray to cyan, said otherwise. 

No one was here to hear or see it, only himself. 

Though there was the weird glowing orbs that floated in the air on occasion: entirely different to the orbs of the sweet voice that he produced. They were odd little things. They wiggled and pulsed weirdly when he touched or poked them. Eugh. And at some points they glitched. He didn’t think those were… real actual thinking creatures. Just formless blobs. At least they were warm to the touch. And fuzzy.

Sometimes he heard the orbs whispering things, once or twice. With voices that he knew, and words he couldn’t make out- only bits and pieces. White noise happened too occasionally, which the voices went quiet. Hurt his head just listening sometimes.

Benrey lay on the cold ground, staring up at a blank black sky, the glowing white orbs acting like stars almost. Pretty, if they weren’t weird looking. 

This was going to be boring. And lonely. Oh well. He had no choice in the matter.

Benrey could… entertain himself for the rest of eternity. Yeah… he could do that. Totally. He felt tired all of a sudden, the iciness of the ground and air numbed most of his senses, but the tiredness seemed to be the only thing he could feel besides the bitter cold. The feeling of something grabbing him got him out of his numb and cold trance. It was instant, the feeling of something or someone having a grip on you. He hated it. Something… had grabbed both of his arms. He looked down, seeing that… the thing that had grabbed him was the same texture and looked similar to the fuzzy glowing orbs. But it was like they had combined into a long rope. Two ropes.

Then it started to pull him.

Wherever these weird orbs wanted to bring him, he did not want to be. He began to try and struggle. Which did nothing to help him. So he gave up briefly, deciding on figuring out where these orbs wanted to take him. It didn’t take long to figure out where. A portal… like one of the ones on Xen was… creating a lot of light in the area. It was white, green and… yellow? It was also glowing strangely. It was a perfect replica of the portals. The only difference was they were black and green.

Seeing that portal… scared him. Terrified him.

His memories of Xen were all horrible though, so it's not hard to wonder why. Super fucked. Like not being able to play Heavenly Sword with Jeffersem & Josh. But like, super worse. Benrey started freaking out, trying to get out of the weird white rope’s grip, the whole works. Not really screaming, more yelling. Kicking. At least his legs were free. Nothing he did seemed to work, which was a big bummer. 

These ropes were persistent. They wanted him in the portal. 

This sucked. There wasn’t any point in fighting it, was there? No, not really. The ropes let him stand- as Benrey stumbled, trying to get his balance. A small moment to let him catch his breath. They let him get a look at the portal for a few minutes before they threw him in. Quickly and suddenly, with no warning. Not very comforting.

And once again, he was falling. 

Just like how he ended up in the void. 

Down and down. Into a bright light. 

He heard himself screaming. And then he was out like a light.

\--

Gordon was having a rough night, to be completely honest. Between the storm outside (plus Bubby ‘accidentally’ almost catching the house on fire, god damnit you can't just use your arson powers for cooking) and his nightmares, he felt like complete and utter shit. Just a normal night for Gordon. Well, not too normal. But close enough to the chaos that was his house on a daily basis. He yawned as he walked through the dark house- just barely able to make out the walls in the darkness of the night, turning on the light in the kitchen.

Caffeine time. 

Couldn’t go through the day without at least one cup of coffee or tea. Going back to sleep was a no go anyway. He had already tried to. It was like 1 AM, so he’d be fine, he was sure. He’d just take a small nap later if he was too tired. He was beginning to set out the box of coffee beans when he heard a crash or some noise from the living room. It was… hard to tell, the noise was very muffled. It was then followed by a loud thump.

“What the fuck-” He sputtered out, setting the box down on the counter before he could drop it on the floor in a panic. He didn't want to wake anyone up. 

Tommy entered the kitchen a few seconds later, rubbing his eyes roughly. “Uhm… Mister Freeman… what was that noise?” He looked groggy and confused. The noise from the living room must have woken him up. And probably everyone else in the house was awake. Damnit, there goes his calm and 'peaceful' morning. He hoped that Joshua was at the very least fast asleep. He couldn't deal with the kid right now, as much as he loved him. Too early. 

Gordon sighed, pinching his nose. “I don’t know man, that’s why I’m going to go check.” He was nervous, he would admit that. His anxiety was going to go through the roof soon if he didn’t hurry up and go into the living room. If it was a burglar he was going to freak out… a lot. 

“Be… be careful. You never know if it’s a…. raccoon… or… or feral animal or something!” Tommy exclaimed, with a frown as messed with his hands in his nervousness. 

Gordon smiled, trying to look reassuring. “Don’t worry. I have my crowbar with me.” He waved the said piece of metal so Tommy could see, who nodded at him with a smile. So, the reassurance was a success. Now he had to check out the noise… He didn’t think a raccoon could get in here, let alone a feral animal. And it was very unlikely it was a burglar. But just in case, he brought a flashlight with him

Well, he hoped it was nothing more than a raccoon.

The darkness of the living room was illuminated by a light. So much for the flashlight he was carrying. Someone had left one of the lamps on.

At first, he thought it was odd, because no one had left a light on- they had been turned off when everyone went to sleep. All the lamps in the room when he looked this morning earlier were off. So how was the light on? Gordon squinted, gripping the crowbar tightly. Then it suddenly hit him. It was a horrible thought but… “No way…” He whispered. Gordon stared at the bright portal in horror, just as it suddenly disappeared from his sight, no longer bathing the area with its light.

He clicked on his flashlight, nervously looking around, at the chairs and the couches, hoping that maybe- just maybe the portal was just the trick of the mind. A silly leftover from his nightmares of Black Mesa, haunting him in his waking moments.

But… it was no trick of the light.

Scoping out the entire room with the beam of his light, his flashlight shined on a person, an unconscious person by the looks of it. The flashlight wasn’t very useful as he thought I’d be, much to his further frustration and disappointment. He couldn’t tell who it was, let alone if they were conscious. Frowning, Gordon carefully made his way to the light switch, turning it on quickly. 

Then, he saw who it was, as he turned around to look. This was a nightmare- or a dream, it had to be.

“B- Benrey?!”


	2. You'll Be Okay I Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's odd to drop into your crush/assumed enemies living room in the middle of the night. But life had a wonderful plan of ruining Gordon's life and giving Benrey opportunities to do what he does best. 
> 
> \--  
> Warning! There's a detailed mental breakdown in this chapter! Please take care of yourselves. 
> 
> I finally was able to write this one. It was originally much longer (i did not expect it to get super long), so I decided to make the rest of what was written the next few chapters. Updates might take a lonnng time due to school and other things. This took too long already, so please be patient with me!
> 
> if you want updates on the fanfic, follow my tumblr: https://thundrstormy.tumblr.com/  
> or my twitter: https://twitter.com/thundrstormy

White, yellow, and the neon green the colors of the portal flew across his vision in streams. 

The world was spinning, around and around, like one of those spinning top toys. Or maybe he was the one who was spinning, Benrey couldn’t really tell, and the dizziness wasn’t helping at all. In fact, it made this all the more confusing. The breeze he felt rushing past him was… comforting, for a moment or two, but the brightness was unbearable. Bright and awful. The portal was blinding, and keeping his eyes open was just giving him a headache. It really hurt to keep his eyes open. Closing them only slightly eased the pain, it wasn’t enough. He was falling too. Well, when you're thrown into a portal against your will, of course you're going to fall. 

Not cool. Benrey, eventually stopped falling, the breeze abruptly screeching to a halt. Unfortunately, so did he, and not as nicely as the breeze did. He fell roughly, crashing onto something course but solid. The sudden darkness made him panic for a moment as his eyes flew open, frantic motions of panic, flopping over the arm of the couch he had fallen on with a loud thump. Was probably a couch… he didn’t know. He bumped his leg too. Ouch. Oops. Opened his eyes too fast. Ow. Ow. Not a pro gamer moment, not a good gamer move at all. This sucked balls.

Once the pain subsided (mostly, he still hurt in the leg) Benrey took a look at the room he found himself in. Not really that well from his position, but he was trying. The room was spinning, and he was still dizzy. That portal was not well designed. Usually portals didn’t bother him and just made him mildly uncomfortable, but this one made him dizzy and disoriented. If he really focused on it, he would notice his senses weren’t as heightened as they usually were. But due to his disorientated state, he did not do such a thing. From what he could see, it looked like a living room. He didn’t exactly ‘know’ what a living room was supposed to look like, since they weren’t very well versed in human houses or living rooms. 

Cool. It was nice to know that he was… out? He guessed he was out of that… personal hell. Could they really call the void a personal hell? Sure. He was calling it his personal hell. 

Benrey heard footsteps coming, which might have almost made him fall off the couch in a frenzy. Looks like whoever owned this house heard him. Did he make a lot of noise? That wasn’t much of a surprise. Oh well. Too bad house-owner. They were tall, they noticed, and big. Benrey also saw they were holding a crowbar and a flashlight. Which was immediately clicked on. Uh oh. He was in trouble. Scary man coming to snatch him from freedom. He was ready to fight like a rapid animal. Benrey rolled over so that his face was pressed into the couch. If he couldn’t see them, then they couldn’t see him. This would definitely work. Definitely. 

Yeah… no. He turned his head, watching the flashlight’s light beam of death sweep over the entire room, pausing every now and again. But they didn’t shine the light at the couch. Did… did his tactic just work? They didn’t seem to be looking at the couch at all, and if it did- they didn’t seem like they noticed him. 1 point for Benrey. 0 points for them. Wait a minute… Benrey knew he should have been able to see in the dark and usually they could. But the living room was completely dark, and he couldn't see anything. That’s… odd. 

There was no time to wonder about the mysterious disappearance of his sweet sweet night vision because the lights of the living room were suddenly clicked on, and Benrey could finally see who it was.

Uh oh...

“B- Benrey?!” Gordon exclaimed in shock. It was kinda like the Spiderman pointing meme, except there was no pointing and Benrey was laying on the couch instead of standing up. Gordon’s sweet voice was for the most part, a mix of surprise, anger, and layered under it- worry. Ah… he wasn’t happy to see him then? He… definitely wasn’t happy to see Benrey. Oh… 

“Sup.” Benrey threw up a peace sign as he sat up, sweet voice bubbling up and out of his mouth. Gordon wouldn’t know what it meant but… he was trying to say he wasn’t a threat. I mean he was doing the peace sign and everything… even without Sweet Voice you could figure that. But it went over his head, as usual.

Gordon stared at him for about a few minutes or two. Oh yeah, he did have that. He was speechless, which would be hilarious and funny if he wasn’t holding a crowbar. “What the fuck- how… how did you come back? I thought you died- I saw you die!” The crowbar in his hands shook slightly. Was he scared?

“Uhhh yeah? I just respawned like usual, in a void- no idea why.” Benrey stood up with a shrug, struggling to get his balance. He was still dizzy. Really dizzy. Oof. “I dunno bro, I was just nowhere and now I’m somewhere.” That’s all he could really say, he didn’t know what else to tell him.

“You’re not happy to see me..?” The former security guard looked upset.

“You… that portal. You came from that portal.” Gordon sputtered out with a finger pointed, surprise floating all around him. Spiderman pointing meme completed. The portal wasn’t his doing… but Gordon didn’t know that, did he? 

It was like he was just realizing it and connecting the dots, dropping the flashlight in his shock. It bounced off the table and then rolled onto the floor. Clumsy, clumsy Gordon. “And of course I don’t! You- you tried to kill me and the Science Team… why would I be happy to see you...” Gordon laughed a little, pinching his nose as he looked away from the eldritch being in his living room. Just normal Gordon things. Normal night for Gordon. 

“Uh- yeah I did.” Benrey backed away slowly from the couch, stretching casually with a yawn.

“It’s… it’s too early for this…” Gordon grumbled, crouching down to retrieve the flashlight from the floor, the sweet voice in the air showing his frustration and irritation. Mainly because the flashlight just kept rolling off the table. Benrey laughed at him. 

“But it was against my will, bro. Do you think I would willingly come back?” Benrey smacked his lips as he watched the annoyance rise into the air from Gordon- Benrey’s indifference to this entire situation was clearly known. He didn’t look like he was unhappy to be here, if anything he was pleasantly neutral. 

To Gordon though, that was indifference.

“Yeah… you would want to come back.” Gordon spat out bitterly. His hands were shaking, holding the crowbar out like it was the only barrier between them. “Wait- you... you came back that's mean- you came for revenge… didn’t you…”

“Wha? Huh?” Benrey stared at the other man, clearly confused. Revenge? Oh. That's what he thought. “I- what... no… why would I... want to do that?” The alien backed up more, bumping into the wall as Gordon stepped closer- though looking very hesitant. But that didn't matter now, did it?

“I didn’t even…” Benrey’s voice failed him, cracking as anger burst out of his mouth. 

A sudden frustrated noise came out of Benrey’s mouth.. He couldn’t even explain himself, Gordon wasn’t even trying to listen to him. To see that this was all a misunderstanding. Stubborn as always. Benrey shook his head at the man, not even wanting to try to explain. He knew exactly what Gordon's opinion of him was. Honestly, It'd be better if it stayed that way. Forever the villain, he was fine with that. Benrey would play the part if only to keep things from getting more and more complicated.

But would his emotional state let him?

“That’s the only explanation I can think of that makes sense! You came to kill us!” Gordon’s free hand was expressing his frustration with the alien, waving in the air. Gordon was always expressive with his hands. It was a nice little quirk he had. Benrey thought so, anyway. “There’s no way… there’s no way you didn’t come here to do anything but that…” 

Well. That was an assumption and a half. 

Benrey didn’t blame him though. Benrey did have a very good reason to want revenge in Gordon's eyes. Perfect, in fact. He had been forced into the role of the antagonist (he had been forced, but not by them entirely) by the group and was thrown in the void as punishment. Gordon thought he'd be angry about that- that he’d want revenge against him and the others. But that wasn’t what he wanted or was feeling, currently at least. He had already been prepared to be alone in the void, already prepared to spend an entire eternity alone. That was ok… he knew he could deal with it. He always did. But… he was here now, and there was no one who could put him back in there. 

Benrey didn’t want to be alone anymore, he wanted to... he wanted to...

Benrey shut his eyes, as the room blurred from tears, body shaking as he tried to keep it together. He usually had it together… but right now he just couldn’t, his frustration was going against him and his loneliness. He felt like he was going to collapse right then and there- he almost couldn’t breathe. His throat felt like it was being forcefully closed, tightening. His heart was beating fast, and his mouth felt dry, as the world spun faster and faster around him. His whole body was shaking violently, tears going down his face like a waterfall. Sweet voice spilled out of his mouth, bright bubbles continuously flowing out and floating around the room. There were a lot of them. 

Too many.

* * *

“Benrey…?” Gordon stared, confused and worried. Shit. He had never seen Benrey like this before- and... he felt guilty. He had expected Benrey to attack him or try to hurt the others in the house. But instead of that Benrey was… breaking down right in front of him, and his form was… well… distorting… shifting? He didn’t know how to describe it, but it was… startling. It was startling to see someone who seems so relaxed usually just… break in front of you. He knew a mental breakdown when he saw one, and this was definitely a mental breakdown.

“Tommy!” Gordon called out, though it was as quiet as he possibly could do. Didn’t want to wake up anyone else in the house. “I… can you come here? I need a bit of help with uh... sweet voice translation.” Quietly he approached Benrey, who was now crouching down on the ground, holding his helmet tightly with his hands. Gordon was hesitant to touch him or even to try to talk to him. He was... utterly lost on what to do. Would it be okay to hug him? Touch him? Gordon put the crowbar onto the ground, taking small steps to Benrey. Gordon didn’t know, but he would try it anyway, pulling him into a hug. Benrey didn’t seem to mind, more sweet voice tumbling out of his mouth, different colors this time. 

Teal, magenta, and navy. He didn’t know what that meant.

A worried Tommy quickly rushed into the room, not even looking surprised to see that Benrey was there, he just looked at the bubbles in the air. He… he’d have to ask him about that later. “Mister Freeman…” He sounded worried as he looked, a growing frown on his face. “Magenta to blue means… he’s breaking down… or- panicking!” Tommy fidgeted as he slowly made his way over to the source of the Sweet Voice. “We- we need to ground him. He’s hurting a lot… ” Tommy stared at the Sweet Voice that was coming from Benrey in large portions, opening his mouth and then shaking his head in some sort of understanding. 

Guess he wasn’t translating that.

“Yeah… I suspected as much. I… it’s my fault...” Gordon glanced down at the trembling form of the security guard that was currently clinging to him, face pressed into his chest like he was his lifeline, arms gripping his back tightly. The muffled sobs coming from Benrey were hard to hear, and worried him. His physical form was more stable this time at least. This… this was his fault, wasn’t it? He jumped to conclusions, thought Benrey was out to get him- and then it… yeah. It backfired. Big time.

Tommy smiled sadly. “I’m.. I’m sure you didn’t mean to! We can worry about that later, okay?” 

Tommy looked down at Benrey, speaking to him softly. “Benrey… can you do something for me?” Benrey barely registered what Tommy was saying for an entire minute or two, before he suddenly nodded. “Alright… Gordon can you rub his back…? Do it gently, doing it rough will j- just harm him.” Gordon looked a little unsure and hesitant at the request, but he did as he was told without much of a word, rubbing circles on Benrey’s back as gently as he could. It seemed to work, which… was a big relief.

“Okay… now…” Tommy instructed, looking back down at Benrey, who looked calmer than before. Not much better, but improving. “I need you to breathe in and out with me, alright? Count to 10 between each breath.” 

Gordon felt awkward and out of place, standing there holding Benrey, as he slowly calmed down little by little. He opened his mouth to say something but immediately closed it, not wanting to disrupt the moment. Hoped Benrey was alright. He was still… not over Black Mesa yet, or Benrey’s whole deal. Two months weren’t nearly enough to fully be okay with it, even if the rest of the team was slowly getting there. He still didn’t trust him nor did he forgive Benrey in the slightest, but even Gordon wasn’t that awful as to kick him out when he was… feeling like that.

“There we go!” Tommy chirped, a smile on his face. “Are you feeling alright now? Need... to.. uhm... lay down?”

“‘m fine for the most part bro, just need a nap…” Benrey mumbled with a shrug, not letting go of Gordon, which confused Gordon a lot. “He uhh... didn’t mean to upset me or anything… it’s cool. I get it. We’re cool now,” 

"Y- yeah...." Gordon opened his mouth suddenly. He needed to apologize still, he almost forgot about that. “Now wait just a minute I need to-” But... all he got was the Sweet Voice in his mouth. Blue and purple. So much blue. Blue raspberry wasn’t bad but jeez- “Blegh- dude! I’m trying to apologize, man… the guilts eating me alive…” 

“Chill.” Benrey’s eyes were tinged with red and puffy, and his mouth was trickling… blood? The blood was… dripping onto the floor and his shirt- which was worrying and very concerning. The alien was shaking fiercely, especially in his hands, which were still gripping him tightly. He seemed fine besides that, definitely looked like he needed a nap. “Calm down please?” Gordon shut his mouth and nodded, not wanting to argue with him any further on the matter. He guessed the apology was already accepted before he even had the chance to say it.

Which… was fine. Yeah, that was fine.

“Do you want anything to.. to drink, Benrey?” Tommy quietly asked, picking up the crowbar from the table and handing it to Gordon- giving him a silent look. The man sighed, getting Benrey to let go of him finally, taking the crowbar and leaving the room to put it back in the closet. Benrey noticed Tommy was trying to keep him calm, which was appreciated.

“I just need some gamer juice and I’ll be good.” Benrey gave a thumbs up, flopping onto the couch.

“Soda?” Tommy picked up the flashlight that was left on the table, pressing the button a few times, causing him to get distracted by the clicking as he walked. 

Benrey grinned. “Hell yeah bro.”

Tommy came back, minus flashlight, with a soda can and a napkin, a very familiar brand to the alien. Mountain Dew. The ultimate gamer fuel. After Tommy gave him the soda and wiped the blood off of his face, he left the room. Probably to give him a bit of peace and quiet. That was… nice of him. Benrey did kind of need some peace and quiet, just drinking his soda and chilling out. He felt weird. His senses were all working wrong. His abilities seem to not be working at all, and his mouth was bleeding. Why. 

He felt really weak, like the fragile kind of weak. It was scary- maybe he did need to lie down. After he gulped down all of his soda in one setting, Benrey decided he was going to take a nap, flinging his legs onto the cushion. Yes. He was sleeping in his uniform: helmet and all. He didn’t want to take it off. Even if it was uncomfortable to sleep in.

Gordon returned to the living room with a pillow and blanket, Benrey stared at him. Gordon stared back at him. This continued for a few minutes, and Benrey then stared at what he was carrying. “Ooooo whatcha got there… You uh… you gonna do a sleepover with me? Lil sleepover party? We going to play video games, gossip, and share secrets?” 

“No- I- That’s not what I’m doing...” Gordon groaned in annoyance, laughing a little.. “I brought you this shit so you can sleep. It’s not for me. It’s for you…”

“Awww you care about me… don't you?” Benrey teased, eyes glittering. "Gordon got-"

Gordon dumped the pillow and blanket on top of Benrey, not voicing his displeasure of the teasing. Benrey protested, complaining as he grabbed the blanket and pulled it off of his face. “I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

Benrey put the pillow under his head and the blanket over him. “Yeah, it's cool.”

“Cool.” Gordon stood there for a few minutes in silence, debating on what he needed to do. He needed to reheat his coffee. That was one thing… and also… a phone call. 

“Can you tuck me in bro?” Benrey asked, casually. 

“What? No…” Gordon looked surprised at the question, eyes narrowing in suspicion at the sudden request. He was NOT doing that. "Tuck yourself in, man. I need to get my caffeine.” He laughed at him, turning to leave.

“Please? Please bro…?” Benrey pouted.

"Fine fine… I’ll do it… “ Gordon sighed. He didn’t want to upset Benrey anymore today. It kinda hurt to see him in that much pain, and he still felt guilty about pushing him over the edge. Like he owned it to him. Maybe he did. The man walked over with an irritated grumble, tucking him in. Benrey looked oddly satisfied, and Gordon had a feeling Benrey would never let him down about this. God… damnit... 

Benrey was knocked out instantly (he had no idea how he was able to do that) after Gordon tucked him in. Did he really wait for him to do that so that he could sleep? Or was he so tired he got knocked out? It was hard to even know if one was true and one was a lie, Benrey was an enigma sometimes to him. Gordon shook his head, leaving Benrey to sleep. He had a cup of coffee to reheat, it was probably cold by now. He needed to make a phone call afterward though. Man, was he nervous. Really nervous.

But it had to be done. He needed answers.

* * *

Now, Tommy was a grown adult- just because he was childish, didn’t mean he wasn’t intelligent. Scientists were supposed to be smart weren’t they? He didn’t get his college degree in biology for nothing, creating the perfect dog and all. Tommy also liked helping people, especially those who really needed it. He was good at emotions and feelings, the kind of person you could go to when you’re having a bad day. He was good at cheering people up and listening to others' problems. It was why he studied Sweet Voice in the first place, so he could know what people were feeling. I mean... he had always been able to see it, even as a small child- an orphan... Humans seeing Sweet Voice was... really rare, unheard of. Tommy had once thought he was one of those few people, but well... Tommy knew that he wasn't completely human after all.

Sometimes you end up biting more than you can chew, when it comes to people. Tonight was… perhaps maybe one of those times. 

"Dad..." Tommy muttered into the phone, the anxious tapping on his leg keeping him from drifting off, the cold iciness of the chair making him uncomfortable but somewhat grounded from his thoughts. Gordon was busy in the living room, assumingly giving Benrey a blanket and a pillow, like Tommy requested him do. Hopefully...

"I... uhm... opened a portal I think... in the living room?" Tommy fidgeted with a fidget toy in his other hand in a bout of nervousness, and to keep himself from making too much noise. "And… Benrey came out of it… and he... he was hurting really badly! I almost wanted to panic… I’ve seen him breakdown before… but this was really… bad.” His dad was comfortably quiet, as he usually was when Tommy vented his worries to him. It wasn’t every day, but Tommy tended to talk to him about anything, vent or no vent.

And Mr. Coolatta, for all of his cryptic words and the mystery surrounding him, was a good listener and a good father. “Wherever you put him… really messed him up emotionally… are you sure that place was safe?" 

His father hummed thoughtfully. “The one you call… Ben-rey is a… very powerful entity, very much alike to you.. and I. The usual method of… containment would not do… and I had to use other means to contain him... It should not have affected his mental or emotional state… in… any way. Perhaps you should… talk to him... hm? I’m sure he would tell you what had… occurred there...” 

Tommy chewed on his nails out of habit, thinking about his father's words. He knew his father was trying to reassure him, but he was still worried all the same. His best friend was hurting, for crying out loud, of course he would still be worried. And Gordon was a whole other issue. “Yeah… I know that…” He muttered. 

“Mmm… I have to go now son. We’ll talk… tomorrow… I suspect I have a visit in order. Good night Tommy.” 

“Good night!” Tommy was sure I’d be fine. 

* * *

When Gordon finally got to the kitchen to reheat his coffee in the microwave, it was almost 2:00 AM in the morning. Huh, an entire hour had passed. He had barely noticed, too busy worrying about… well… Benrey. Not worried about him entirely, just the implications of him being here. That’s why he was making a phone call. Benrey had never demonstrated the power to open up those portals back at Black Mesa. And… that meant that he wasn’t the one who opened it- if he had to guess. Which in turn, made Gordon feel even more awful than before. He… didn’t let the guy explain, didn’t he? Typical Gordon, jumping to conclusions and running yourself into a mess. At least this could be fixed. 

Benrey didn't seem to be too upset about it, but what did Gordon know about how he felt? He knew next to nothing on the guy. Couldn't read him well and when he thought he got a good look on him he proved him wrong. Gordon ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh, taking a hesitant sip of his coffee. Not hot enough to burn his tongue, but heated just right to be warm. 

“Mister Freeman…?” Tommy's sudden appearance made Gordon jump a little, almost dropping his coffee. “Shouldn’t you… be uhm... going back to bed?”

“I’ll go back to sleep after a little bit... I need to make a phone call, it’ll only take a few minutes.” Gordon laughed a little, gripping the coffee cup a bit tighter, mainly due to how anxious he was feeling. He was pretty much procrastinating at this point.

Tommy stared at him with concern, his yellow eyes seemed to be glowing a little bit in the darkness of the kitchen. He didn’t press Gordon any further on his sleeping habits, saying goodnight to Gordon as he left. Huh. Gordon never really noticed his eyes did that bef…. ‘Gah! Gordon! Stop procrastinating,’ he scolded himself, cursing as he turned on his phone and dialed the number. No turning back now.

“Ah, Hello Mr. Freeman…” G-Man’s monotone voice cut through the speaker. He certainly didn’t sound pleased to be woken up at this hour. Which, was probably what any normal person would sound like when woken up at this hour of the morning. Yep. No turning back now. “To what do I owe the pleasure…?” 

“Uh… Benrey… is back…” Was all Gordon could manage to spit out. He was fumbling over his words, unsure how to put it.

“I am very much aware of that, Mr. Freeman.” The G-Man, or really Mr. Coolatta, sounded amused. “Tommy let me know, but why you decided to call me at this hour is... quite surprising…” There was a pause, and an awkward silence filled the room before the enigma of a man continued. “But at any rate, I must let you know I’m coming over tomorrow to explain some things that you… may not know.” 

“May not know?” Gordon asked. “What do you mean not know?”

“That is for the morning, Mr. Freeman,” G-Man spoke sharply and quickly, without a hint of what he meant by that. “-not a call at 2 AM…. and as much as I’d love to keep talking to you- I’m afraid I must cut this conversation short. I have work to do, as I’m sure you understand.” 

“Wait-!” The line went dead as G-Man ended the call before Gordon could respond to the man. Gordon cursed, annoyed. So much for the answers he had been seeking. Bitterly, Gordon put the phone on the counter as he drank the rest of his coffee. Guess he’d head to bed, lay there for a few hours and try to sleep. Like that’d work at all, he had caffeine already in his system, no way could he go back to sleep. Gordon took his phone as he headed to his room.

What a night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet Voice translations in order  
> 1\. magenta to cyan: i really care about you  
> 2\. blue to purple: dont worry about me  
> -  
> I used (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y_TdePINatJlPvYI5kvA4ElPuqRgTwOiKXqckRxoM28/edit?usp=sharing) for Sweet Voice translations! Go check it out :D!! It's very useful. I'll try not to depend on it too much though.


	3. Peaceful Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nobody said this was going to be easy, especially where Benrey was concerned. For the Science Team, nothing is ever simple or concrete as it seems. 
> 
> Maybe it was their charm, but it was… also their hindrance.
> 
> \--  
> Another chapter! :) I couldn't help but give a smidgen of Benrey pining and Gordon being clueless in this chapter. If there's any errors let me know!
> 
> if you want updates on the fanfic, follow my tumblr: https://thundrstormy.tumblr.com/  
> or my twitter: https://twitter.com/thundrstormy

The rest of his night had been restless, his nightmares causing a fitful night of tossing and turning. And… also breakdowns, which occurred in the bathroom (specifically on the floor) because he didn’t want to wake the whole house up again.

His bathroom was soundproof for this exact reason, so he wouldn’t wake anyone. He didn’t want to be a burden on anyone. They had their own problems to deal with, he had to deal with his issues on his own. His nightmares weren’t often anymore as they were two months ago, but they weren’t as rare as he had hoped they would be by now. The nightmares made it hard to sleep at night, but getting up in the morning was even harder than sleeping, but he managed. He had to manage, or he wouldn’t be… well… enough.

Thank humanity for coffee, sweet sweet shitty wake up beans.

Gordon, after a few minutes of wall-staring, finally got up from his bed and entered the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Caffeine at last. Shitty wake up beans for Gordon. He pulled the beans out of the cabinet, turning to the coffee pot. Now… what would he make for breakfast? It had been a while since he made a proper one... maybe some pancakes, with some bacon and eggs? That sounded good, and Joshua would be overjoyed. He always did love his pancakes and bacon… Gordon thought with amusement as he pulled out the mix, the bacon, and the eggs.

Oh right Benrey. 

He’d need to wake up Benrey before he started on anything, since everyone was waking up at this time of the morning. Gordon was NOT looking forward to that in the slightest. Dealing with the alien was exhausting. Coffee first, Benrey second. Well- Benrey needed food too, just like anyone, so he supposed it was just good hospitality to invite him. Even if he’d very much prefer Benrey not being there at all. Gordon put down the pancake mix, grabbed his cup of coffee and headed to the living room, nervously biting his lip as he walked.

The light of the early morning shone from the windows, giving the room enough light to see properly in. Which gave him the perfect look at the currently sleeping eldritch being in his living room, who was laying on his back. He’d be almost cute if he wasn’t… well.. Benrey. He was trying not to be so negative about the guy but... forgiveness doesn’t happen overnight. He quietly put a hand on Benrey’s shoulder, shaking him a little. Not too much, that’d probably spook him, but enough to rouse him at least a little bit. Enough to let him wake up on his own. 

“Hey buddy, wake up…” Gordon watched as Benrey stirred, rolling over so his back was turned.

Gordon raised an eyebrow, resisting the urge to chuckle and shook him again. “You really need to wake up man.” He insisted.

Benrey opened his eyes, flipping over to squint at the man. Then he just rolled back over- debating whether he should just get up or not, or just ignore Gordon completely.

Nah- he’d just get up I guess. Sleeping was such a chore. But, he had been awake for a while now. 2 or so hours of laying there and watching the sunlight creep into the house. Reminded him of the portal, so he stuffed his face full of couch. Then he had fallen back to sleep. Again, pointless for him. But sleep wasn’t always too bad… and he had been unusually tired so he just rolled with it. 

No point in arguing with Tommy on that one.

Benrey propped his arms up to look up at Gordon. He had shifted through three different emotions before settling on his normal nonchalant expression. “What’s up?”

“Are… you okay?” Gordon asked, concerned, shaking his head. “No- You know what, I don’t want to know if you are or not, you obviously still aren’t. But uh- I’m making breakfast later, you’re invited to eat with us.”

Benrey gave a few noises of confusion, including his classic “Huh wuh?” response to the breakfast invitation, as Gordon sat down next to him, noticing he had a cup of coffee in his hands. He really loved coffee, huh? What a dweeb. 

“Breakfast.” Gordon repeated with a sigh.

Benrey sat up on the couch with a shrug, curling the blanket around himself. “I don’t think that’s a good idea bro, I… uh... fucked with the vibes enough already.” The alien mumbled, sweet voice bubbling at the back of his throat. Benrey decided to release it, not really caring if Gordon saw any of it. He wouldn’t know what it meant… so it was all good.

It would be nothing but a bad idea. Why was Gordon even inviting him?

“No no- it’ll be fine! You need to eat, man… ” Gordon insisted, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Not upset or pissed though, just disappointed and mildly irritated at him. Huh, so just the usual Gordon mood. That was… good. Yeah, good. 

Benrey didn't need to eat as much- at least, he thought he didn’t. So... why all this trouble?

"Why you.. uh... so worried about my health? Huh? You gonna... gonna tell me to my greens or something? Lil veggies?" Benrey muttered, squinting at the disheveled man beside him.

Gordon laughed, exasperated. “I’m not too worried about that… it’s just you had to have not eaten anything in a while and I wanted to… ya know… be a little bit nice to you?”

He shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee and focusing on it. Not the insufferable, maybe a bit cute eldritch being beside him that he may want to understand more. He didn’t hate Benrey as much as he originally thought. “Besides, I’m really doing this as an… apology, for last night, it was fucked of me to have assumed and yelled at you like that. If it... makes you feel any better- I’m making blueberry pancakes.”

A pause, Benrey shrugged at him. Gordon looked apologetic, putting his coffee down as he was pulled into his own thoughts. He… kinda did want him here, to understand him and be his friend. And, maybe he had been kind of an ass to him in Black Mesa. But he still didn’t like him or trust Benrey. The man did get his arm cut off and he had tried to kill him, after all. Gordon was always so… he cared too much, sometimes. A bleeding heart even for people he hated. Or thought he hated. 

Even though he obviously should not be worried or care about Benrey, and then he turns around and contradicts that. Gordon knew that. Knew that he… probably didn’t hate Benrey as much as he thought.

Benrey knew this.. invitation to breakfast was only a pleasantry and politeness. That was a fact- so why did he insist that he wanted him there at all? It was… confusing. Mixed signals... Gordon sure loved to confuse him. All the time.

“Okay. Pancakes are… uhm… cool.” Benrey immediately agreed, not bothering to say anything else. He liked blueberry pancakes. So he was in on that. Pancakes were cool.

“Yeah- cool.” Gordon nodded, looking relieved, before leaving with his coffee to do… whatever it is he was going to do- make food or whatever?

Benrey usually didn't need to eat for long periods of time, nor did he need to eat as much as humans regularly did. In fact, the Mountain Dew should have been enough. So... why all this trouble? Why make an effort to include him? The alien couldn't understand it. Thought Gordon hated him... He didn't feel good enough to eat either, but Gordon was so insistent on him being there that he guessed he'd do it anyway. He didn't feel good enough to eat either, but Gordon was so insistent on him being there that he guessed he'd do it anyway.

Sweet Voice instinctively came out- teal and bright green in all it’s haunting glory, which he slapped a hand over his mouth before anymore could come out, blood trickling out despite his efforts. Oops.

He… he didn't understand this.

What was happening to him? First the fragileness he was feeling, and now the Sweet Voice was making him bleed in the mouth. And also… the feelings he had been having around Gordon were back as well. Life was just wanting him to suffer constantly, huh? He also felt woozy for some reason, him closing his eyes with a shaky breath. Guess he had a cut in his mouth or something. That's the only explanation.

It was like his abilities were acting against him, making him suffer. Just like his feelings about Gordon were making him suffer- made Benrey feel all warm and tingly inside whenever he was near. He didn’t know if those feelings were bad or not, but he didn’t like them. Benrey already knew he liked Gordon, had a crush on him or whatever it was called, he didn’t need his body telling him that. Knew his feelings toward Gordon were unwanted, unrequited. Gordon would never like them, he made that quite clear.

It sucked ass but it was life, and he had to live with the fact that... 

Nope. Not thinking about it. No more thoughts, head empty. 

The portal... it sure made his senses all wonky.

* * *

Gordon instantly realized the moment he came back to the kitchen to start breakfast: he’d have to tell the others about Benrey. Dread, he felt dread crawl up his spine like a morning chill. Nah- it’d be fine. It’d be totally fine! Tommy already knew he was here, Joshua would love the guy, and Dr. Coomer would be friendly to Benrey as always. Bubby though… was as unpredictable as the fire they wielded. Would they be fine with Benrey’s presence? Would they get pissed that he was here?

Would they… try to kill him?

And then the fact that G-Man was coming over for an explanation of some kind. What would he think about Benrey being here? Would he want him eliminated, or would he put him back where he came from?

Gordon would be fine with that 6 ½ hours ago if it weren’t the fact of the breakdown he saw and the realization he had made just a minute ago. Last night made him feel guilty for even thinking about putting him back in there. He proceeded to continuously think of all the possible ways this could go wrong, as he made breakfast. He was… overthinking this, all of it. His anxiety was screwing with him.

Yeah, he was sure it’d be fine.

Gordon didn’t want his thoughts to spiral further and further, so he decided to focus on the food he was making, if only to keep the thoughts at bay. The movement of flipping pancakes was therapeutic in a weird sort of way. Calming. But Gordon wasn’t just doing the pancakes- he was multitasking on all of the food too. I’d be stress inducing having to focus on all that, if Gordon wasn’t fully focused on it. He’d done this before when the gang wanted to make a big breakfast as a celebration of escaping Black Mesa.

It wasn’t that stressful. It was fun actually!

“Are you… uhh, cooking?” A quiet voice interrupted him and his intense focus, getting a muffled surprise outta him.

It was just Benrey. 

“Uh… yeah. I am, and don’t sneak up on me.” Gordon was barely paying attention to Benrey. 

Still focused on watching the next batch of pancakes, while putting the bacon on a plate, with a paper towel on top for the grease. The usual things you do when cooking greasy food. He did, however, notice Benrey was trying to snatch some pieces of bacon from the plate. “Hey! No stealing.” He swatted Benrey’s greedy hands away from the food, who pulled his hands behind his back, whistling. Mischievous lil shit. Benrey stared at him not saying a word for a minute and half before trying to steal a piece of bacon again. 

That… was not going to work. Gordon was as stubborn as they come. No bacon for you.

“Dude!” Gordon complained, shooing him away from the counter. “You’re like a fucking cat… stop that!” He laughed at Benrey’s pouting, before going back to cooking the food. Gordon wasn’t budging, so Benrey finally relented from attempting to steal, as he instead looked over Gordon’s shoulder to watch him.

“That’s a lot of food bro... you sure you can handle all that? Your gonna burn it all n shit...” Benrey muttered with a confused quirk of the eyebrow, looking weirdly confused at the idea of cooking so much at the same time.

Gordon had to admit that… it probably looked like a lot. He could handle it though. It was perfectly fine. Then he suddenly got an idea, like a light bulb above your head kind of moment, an idea that involved the alien. Just a little teasing wouldn’t hurt him, would it? Nah. Benrey already teased him constantly and often. Maybe Gordon can tease him back, as a treat.

“If you think I can’t handle all this, why don’t you help me?” Gordon suggested with snark, smirking playfully as he waved the spatula in his direction. “Or.. how about you do it?”

Benrey shrugged, crossing his arms with a quiet huff. “I was just sayin’ bro… no need to get all huffy at me about it.” Benrey smacked his lips a bit, staring at the food. And then it dawned him, earning Gordon an annoyed, and maybe a bit grumpy, glare. Gordon had just assumed that Benrey couldn’t cook and never tried to, which was completely true, and then Gordon had the audacity to laugh at him. Straight up cackled. The evils of being owned.

How terrible, how cruel he was to put such a fate on Benrey. He was fuming.

“Ruudeee… Rude- gonna make more rude comments? Huh? Gonna insult my nonexistent cooking skills some more? You're the worsttttt....” Benrey complained with a sad frown, stomping his feet like he was a child throwing a tantrum, sweet voice coming out in a low tune. 

“I’m just sayin’...” Gordon repeated as he laughed some more, relishing in the feeling he was having. He didn't know what the feeling was... to be completely honest. But it was good, whatever the feeling was.

“Uh huh… that’s what I thought. Go sit down in the living room, I've still got a lot of food to do.” Gordon looked proud of himself. Smug, even. Whether Benrey actually helped or not, didn’t matter. Grumbling, Benrey left the kitchen. But not without stealing a pancake in tasty revenge and running off with it, cackling like a madman. Gordon was too tired to run after him. Benrey could have that one.

Gordon hoped he went to the living room.

* * *

He did not. 

Instead of doing what he was asked, as all agents of chaos do, he went straight to Gordon’s room. To rummage. And explore, for Playstation and for things to tease Gordon about in his revenge. Gordon had insulted his nonexistent cooking skills, and that was not cool of him. It was only fair- and besides, he was soooooo bored. As you can clearly see and know, Benrey hadn’t been able to play Heavenly Sword. Cuz, ya know, void and the big boss fight and Gordon fucking the whole day up for him with his dick slip.

The monologue wasn’t all complete bullshit, you know? So, he wanted to get back at him, since the boss fight hadn’t been his only plan. The boss fight had been a last resort, clear desperation. Wasn’t what he wanted, at all. Anyway. This plan was less disruptive and trauma-inducing, and it didn’t result in… lost hands or fighting anyone. Hurting anyone.

Benrey felt bad about that, even if he truly wouldn’t admit it to Gordon’s face. Very bad. Super duper extremely bad. He hadn’t known he couldn’t just… regenerate a new hand! He also didn’t know humans couldn’t respawn! So the only thing he could think of was to see if he had a Playstation and to see his games. And then play on it.

Luckily, Gordon had his Playstation… a PS4, in his room. Hooked up and ready to play.

Benrey cackled evilly, rubbing his hands together as he turned the thing on. “What games do you have…? Probably lame ones... don't even have Heavenly Sword I bet.” He wondered aloud with a mischievous grin, scouring the entire room for his games.

He found them on top of one of the shelves near his computer and started going through them. Wow, he had a lot. Call of Duty, RDR2, TLOU, and was that fucking Fortnite? Lame ass Gordon, for that last choice- but surprisingly had some good taste. Guess he was for real on the streamer gig and shit. 

One of the games caught his eye due to the colors on the case…. Persona 5 Royal.

Okay. Benrey had never heard of this one before. When you live a portion of your childhood in an alien world and only live your life on Earth in the wilderness or in a science facility that's super old and isolated, you don’t exactly know most of what’s out there. Guess he’d play this game, it sounded fun. And besides- either way, it would piss Feetman off once he found he was playing on his Playstation. Grinning to himself, he ejected whatever game he had in the player, putting the disk in.

“What are you doing in here?” Speaking of Freeman, there he was. There an annoyed Gordon stood in the doorway, who was not happy he had snuck into his room. Or maybe he was just peeved.

“Gaming. Uhhh… aren’t you supposed to be cooking? You gonna…. uhh- just let the food burn, huh?” Benrey replied matter-of-factly, starting a new game immediately without pausing. Gordon hadn’t touched this one at all, no save files or anything. Which was a bit disappointing. Had he really not touched this one yet? Man…

Gordon stared at him, stared at the screen, stared at the case on the floor that the disk was supposed to be in and sighed. “Tommy woke up and started helping me with the food, so I went to go find you, because the rest of the team doesn’t know you're here.” He grumbled, messing with a loose bit of hair that wasn’t up in a low ponytail. “And I need you to stay in one place- this is… fine. Better than the living room, when I think about it.”

“You knew I was in here?” Benrey looked surprised. But he actually wasn’t surprised at all. He knew he would be found, so he didn’t really care.

Gordon twirled the bit of hair with his finger. “Uh yeah… I noticed you weren’t… where you were supposed to be. Anyway-”

“Breakfast is almost done, that’s all I’m here to tell you… mostly.” Gordon looked around the room, expecting to see his things everywhere. His things were where they were when Benrey got here. Benrey wasn’t that much of an asshole. Yet. “Well.. you only touched my games. Which- is fine, some of those I haven’t played, so I won’t bug you about it. Just… don’t snoop into my shit, please? I don’t need you to have any embarrassing material to tease me with.. You already got plenty.”

“Yep.” Benrey gave a thumbs up, like he was entranced by the game. He definitely was going to look later. But for now, Casino time. Cool. He’d love to rob a casino someday. That’d be fun and pretty sick. Maybe in Payday or something… yoooo Gordon could stream it and shit.

Gordon then gave him a look, staring at Benrey’s clothes. “You should probably get out of that security outfit…” He suggested.

Benrey glanced at him briefly, still focused on the game. “Why?”

Gordon gave him another look, this one more annoyed than the last. “It’s dirty.. ripped up it looks like and… it probably needs to be washed.” He shook his head with a wave of his hand to emphasize his point. “Pause your game, I got some clothes that can fit you. It’ll be more comfortable, promise.” Saying that, he opened the door to his closet and started rummaging. Into the void Freeman went, leaving Benrey alone for now.

Benrey shrugged to himself. “Oh kay.” He paused the game, sighing mournfully. He would be back, he promised silently. 

Gordon came out of the void that was the closet with clothes in his arms, holding them out for Benrey to take.. “Go change in the bathroom.” He pointed out the door to the hallway.

“Where is it?” Benrey asked with a tilt of his head, as he grabbed the clothes. Hoodie. Gamer t-shirt. Fuck yeahhh… his kind of clothes. He almost thought that Gordon bought these clothes just for him to wear. But that was definitely not true.

“It’s… next door.” Gordon sat in his gamer chair, crossing his legs.

Benrey did a thumbs up, and left the room to change. Gordon could hear loud thumps from the bathroom, probably the boots and vest. Startled him all the things but... Those things were really heavy and loud when they came off. He came back into Gordon’s room. The hoodie was a little oversized, and the checkered pants were a bit long but not too long to cause Benrey to trip. Overall, a nice gamer fit.

Benrey immediately went back to his game, like he never left. A comfortable silence stretched as Benrey played his game. Very nice, some good vibes all around.

“Hehe… I’ma name this guy uhhh- Gordon Peeman…” Benrey snickered, once he got to the part of the game that needed him to… sign his character’s name? He was… not joking, he was doing this. He was naming him Gordon Peeman. It’d be hilarious AND would annoy Gordon. 

Two funnies in one. Benrey was, as usual, a complete comedic genius.

“Wait- please don’t…. for my sanity...” Gordon pleading in a blubbering panic, hands waving frantically as he watched the screen. Why was he so….? He didn’t look too upset about it to Benrey, so he didn’t listen to him. Like he would ever listen to him. Benrey was already putting in the letter’s of his name, grin widening. It was too late now.

“Bro… it’s too late now.” Benrey’s expression twisted into a wicked grin as he cackled. The alien pointed a finger, just at the moment he clicked yes. “Die with the knowledge I have shown you, or live in forever horror.”

“Are you… serious… really?” Gordon rolled his eyes as he groaned into his hands. He then looked at the screen. He paused, before he suddenly burst into laughter, filling the room with his laugh. 

He was unknowingly throwing Benrey off his groove, who stared at him in… shock. He was actually amused that Benrey was jokingly naming his character after him. He thought it was funny. Actually. Seriously. Genuinely. Gordon Freeman was laughing at his joke. A single point for Benrey in making his crush laugh department, zero points for... who knew. The bone boys? Zero points for the bone boys it was. Benrey didn’t know how to top that. He probably couldn’t top that ever.

“Yeah honestly I didn’t think I’d be able to stop you from doing that, even if I wanted to.” Gordon joked, wiping the tears that had formed out of his eyes. He wheezed. “That’s so stupid… but funny at the same time-” He started laughing again. “Gordon Peeman… what the fuck man… how did you think that up?”

Now Benrey was even more confused than before. The weird warm and tingly feeling was back in his chest in full force. He had it bad… “Uh- cuz-” Benrey stammered, trying to speak, but Gordon cut him off. 

“Have fun with your game...” Gordon chuckled, still laughing himself to tears as he was leaving. “I’m gonna check up on Tommy… maybe I’ll stream later today and you can play it on stream.”

Benrey was left to sit there in shock, controller just barely being held in his hands. His face was beginning to get red as a tomato, Sweet Voice coming out of his mouth in long bursts and at high notes from his shock: pink to bright blue. His face was radiating heat at his point it was so red. “What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck…” He mumbled under his breath as he frantically swiped at the bubbles floating all about the room. 

To make them disappear quicker in case Freeman came back and saw them. It would be embarrassing, his stupid crush was affecting him way too much and Benrey did not want that to happen. But it was happening anyway. His chest was warm… really warm, just like his face. Benrey dropped the controller, putting his face in his hands- embarrassed. 

_God-damnit Gordon._

* * *

So. Breakfast was for the most part finished.

Now came the hard part: telling the rest of the Science Team about Benrey. Gordon stared at the newly steaming cup of coffee (man was he drinking so much coffee this morning, must be his anxiety), his thoughts spiraling. This wasn’t going to be easy, wasn’t it? Of course it wasn’t going to be easy. I mean... sure Gordon had an idea of how they would react. But even then, it was just an idea, they could surprise him just as much as they could not. 

Bubby was the wildcard of the two old men, while Dr. Coomer was the more predictable of them, but they were both equally unpredictable and violent as they come. He still didn’t have an entire idea of how they’d react to Benrey being back.

Hell, he didn’t even know how Tommy felt about all of this. Maybe he’d… ask him.

“H... Hey Tommy?” Gordon quietly asked, almost too quiet for Tommy to hear him. "Can I ask you something?"

“Y… Yeah?” Tommy replied, tending to the last bit of food that needed to be cooked. Tommy had told him before that he used to cook meals at his father’s house, both due to how busy his dad was with work, and because most of the people living there couldn’t exactly cook. It was nice to have two people in the house who could make meals. 

Dr. Coomer was… not bad at it, but was still a disaster when it came to cooking and Gordon didn’t even give Bubby a chance to try. He knew they'd burn any food they tried to make- thinking that using their pyrokinetics would be easier than normal cooking methods. It was not.

Well it could be if Bubby kept the temperature of the flames at an easy and cook efficient heat. But he didn’t.

Gordon fumbled with the cup’s handle, feeling nervous to even ask Tommy about this subject. But who could blame him. The topic was hard to talk about, even when it came to Tommy. Your best friend trying to kill you and your other friends would be… weird and complicated to talk about, wouldn’t it? “What do you think about… Benrey being back?”

He could almost hear Tommy pause, the silence in the kitchen stretched for longer than Gordon was physically comfortable with. Was… this a touchy subject?

“Well… I’m glad to see him and all but…” Tommy’s trailed off, looking incredibly apologetic, smiling gently. “It’s complicated Mister Freeman. I’m not sure how to put it into words... h- he’s a difficult person to understand, but... he’s my best friend and I’ve missed him. Despite everything…” 

“Ah… yeah. Thought so.” Gordon smiled apologetically back, staring at his cup of coffee once more.

“Mhm! I’m sure everyone else feels a- a similar way.” Tommy went back to cooking, and Gordon retreated back into his mind. Which was immediately interrupted by the loud voice of Dr. Coomer.

“Good morning Tommy!” The cheerful voice of Dr. Coomer was as loud as ever as he strolled into the kitchen with Bubby behind him, who was... sniffing the air? He probably was smelling the food. “And good morning to you as well, Gordon!” Dr. Coomer smiled brightly, his smile was always contagious, except when it came to Bubby.

Bubby always looked pissed off, which they told Gordon wasn’t their fault and was just how they looked. Resting bitch face, I guess? But… it was hard not to think that, or think that they were just being a grump.

“What’s that smell…” Bubby grumbled, with a squint as they sniffed the air more, eyebrows raised as they looked toward the counter. “Bacon? Eggs? Are you really making breakfast at this time of the morning? It’s 6:30!” They complained, a lot more grouchy than they usually are. Gordon guessed they didn’t sleep so good last night. Damn, that was his fault. An extremely grouchy Bubby is never a good Bubby at any time, day or night. 

“Hi...” Tommy greeted the two, waving the spatula in the air, almost smacking Bubby in the face. Bubby gave an annoyed look at him as they scooted over to the coffee machine, but for once they didn’t say anything to him about it. What a relief. “Yes… we are making breakfast at 6:30… it’s the perfect time to make breakfast!” He pointed out matter of factly as Sunkist came into the kitchen, sniffing out the food as well and Joshua was not far behind, giggling excitedly.

Tommy ruffled the dog’s fur with a soft and happy look, greeting Joshua quietly, as Sunkist bounded out of the kitchen and into the living room, barking with Joshua followed after the dog. What a duo.

“H… hello Dr. Coomer and Bubby.” Gordon sighed, his smile soft but knowing as he took a drink of his coffee. And so the chaos begins. “Yeah… me and Tommy are making it. It'll be ready in about a.. few minutes. We… gotta talk first. Can you sit down at the table for me?” He patted the table, near where the empty chairs were.

“Of course we can Gordon!” Dr. Coomer replied, looking a little concerned at the mention of a ‘talk’. Guess his tone told him all that he needed to know about what the talk would entail. “I hope it isn’t any bad news, it would be terribly worrying if that’s the case!”

"I certainly would be unnerved.." Bubby unhappily replied as he poured coffee into their cup.

“Maybe…? I don’t know if this counts as bad... or good.” Gordon gritted his teeth, messing with the coffee cup handle.

“That isn’t a proper answer! Gordon you know how I am...” Bubby snapped impatiently as they picked up their own cup, raising a questioning eyebrow. “Is it or is it not?”

“It’s not bad or good!” Gordon protested with a shake of his hands. “It’s neutral, if anything.”

“Hm, I suppose…” Bubby muttered, as Dr. Coomer patted their shoulder.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine Professor Bubby! Gordon wouldn’t lie to us.” Dr. Coomer cheerfully reminded them.

Bubby gave their partner a knowing look, with a sigh. “I know, I know… Harold, stop getting on my case- and it's Doctor!"

"Professor!"

"Doctor!"

Here we go...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet Voice translations  
> 1\. teal to bright green: longing  
> 2\. pink to bright blue: i love you  
> -  
> Fun fact of the day #1: The video games that Gordon has are all games I found when i looked up 'PS4 Games', except for Persona 5 Royal.  
> Fun fact #2: Joshua is about 11 or 12 in this fic! He was originally not supposed to appear in this chapter at all, but I felt bad that I didn't put him in besides a few passing mentions.


	4. Breaking the Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you explain that the alien… god thing you fought and killed came back two months after you defeated them? Difficult. It was difficult. Super complicated to the point Gordon didn't even know if he could tell them right then and there.
> 
> -  
> Another chapter is here, after a long time of stalling! Sorry for the wait gamers, I've been very busy and stressed with school and what not. But its all good now! I'm going to be shortening chapters so I can put out chapters more easily. But school is affecting how often I post so it may take a bit for chapters to come out. Enjoy this one nonetheless!

“Now what is it that you need to talk about with us, Gordon?” Dr. Coomer asked as he sat down, with a curious if not anxious expression on his face. Gordon didn’t mean to worry him, but talking about Benrey was hard… even when he was physically here. It was hard for all of them to… address things that happened at Black Mesa. Even Tommy had a hard time, but the one who had the hardest time was himself. They at least shared that with Gordon, but nothing else. Not the nightmares. Not the resentment, or the distrust.

“Uhh…” Gordon opened his mouth to reply, not sure how to say it. 

Or… explain it exactly how he wanted to. How do you explain that the alien… god thing you fought and killed came back two months after you defeated them? Difficult. It was difficult. Super complicated to the point Gordon didn't even know if he could tell them right then and there. God damnit, why did it have to be THIS difficult?

“He’ll tell you soon enough. It’s a difficult subject, so you’ll have to be patient, okay?” Tommy calmly told the two. Thank god for Tommy. “Maybe get a can of soda or a cup of coffee first?” He suggested.

Tommy waved the spatula in the direction of the refrigerator. Tommy always stocked it with soda. Every single brand you could think of. Sunkist and Dr. Pepper were the majority of the cans in the refrigerator, next to Powerade and… Monster. Now, Gordon wasn’t an avid soda drinker, preferring tea and coffee over carbonated drinks. But the Science Team… from past examples, were. So they stocked his fridge full of cans. Endearing and sometimes a pain.

“I am quite thirsty… I’ll have a soda then!” Dr. Coomer said thoughtfully, humming a tune as he got up, marching over to the fridge to grab one.

“Hope this ‘talk’ is worth it over my stomach...” Bubby bluntly muttered as they swiped a few pieces of bacon from the plate, earning a scathing look from Tommy. 

It seemed to work at first, as they put the bacon back on the plate before taking a single piece with a smirk. Tommy let out a defeated sigh, letting them have it. Bubby was victorious at long last, battle hard fought. Well.. not exactly a battle per say, nor was it hard. Tommy was more lenient about stealing food before it was time to eat than Gordon was. 

“And what are we going to talk about? I hope it’s nothing about the damn noise I heard last night! What were you doing? Banging pots and pans to disturb my slumber?!” Bubby’s eyes were lit with fire. Literally. They were burning with flame. Bubby was sure snappy this morning… much more than usual. Why were they so mad about that? Oh… right. That’s why… because of Gordon. 

His fault… he remembered now.

“That’s… part of what I need to talk about.” Gordon nervously winced, thinking about last night. He had been loud but… surely he wasn’t TOO loud? 

“Forgive my dear Bubs, I’m afraid their mood isn’t the best this morning…” Dr. Coomer made a face, looking apologetic even though he had nothing to apologize for. “They didn’t sleep so well last night! I had to drag them out of bed...” The small old man shook his head, with an amused and rather tired expression. “It was quite a battle! But I won it!”

“Gordon’s guest bedroom’s mattress is atrocious! Of course I didn’t sleep with all that noise as an added distraction besides the hurting of my back!” Bubby gave Dr. Coomer a fond, but annoyed look as they grabbed their coffee, shuffling over to the table like a pitiful jester where the two sat, not even bothering to sit down.

Dr. Coomer and Bubby, plus Tommy and Sunkist had been staying over to keep Gordon company for the last two months. Dr. Coomer and Bubby lived together, while Tommy lived with his dad and a few other occupants. Never met any of the occupants, nor knew anything about them, just knew they lived there. They didn’t live here by any means, having their own houses nearby. Which they could be staying at, but they choose to cling to Gordon like a well-meaning cat. He had no clue why the Science Team stayed here with him… 

Maybe because of his nightmares? 

But… Gordon had never told them about his nightmares. Never. Never mentioned them, never complained about them to anyone. He never even mentioned nightmares to them. But from the bags constantly under his eyes, they probably guessed he was having nightmares regularly at night anyway, with how jumpy he could be in the day. But he could handle it! He didn’t need comfort or company just because he was having nightmares. Made him feel small, like a child again. But the house being empty did make him… on edge, jumpy and unnerved. Like a headcrab could jump out in front of him… Or a squad of troops could come shooting out of nowhere… 

Company helped it not feel so lonely… so empty. 

“You wouldn’t like me before my coffee…” Bubby snapped out, eyes narrowed with the most grumpy expression that summarized Bubby's constant mood. He was joking around, though. Gordon knew how to tell the difference now.

“Ah, but I do love you… as much as when I first realized how much I care about you...” Dr. Coomer responded fondly, smiling at the other man, who huffed at him with crossed arms. Gordon noticed a small smile rising up on Bubby’s face as well. Ah… yeah. 

“Mhm… I do know that...” Bubby mumbled, looking away from his soon to be husband. _Get a room, you two,_ Gordon amusingly thought. 

Dr. Coomer then turned to Gordon, placing a warm hand on his arm, easing some of his anxieties about the talk. For what reason Coomer was doing this, he didn’t know, but it was nice. Dr. Coomer was like a Grandfather he never had. A welcome change from… well… His family was very absent in his life. Never really cared about him after he got his PHD and a job at Black Mesa, except for his mother. His poor mother… he hoped she was doing alright. Hadn’t contacted her since… He’d have to do that after breakfast, after G-man’s visit, if he had the time. 

God, he hoped he had the time.

“Now, you mentioned we needed to talk, Gordon?” Dr. Coomer questioned with a gentle smile, patting Gordon’s shoulder before pulling back. A little disappointing to his brain. God was he touch-starved. 

Gordon nodded quickly, tapping the table anxiously as he looked away from the two, grinding his teeth together out of habit. A habit whenever he was stressed, really. “Yeah… I do. Only you two though, already… uhm… already talked to Tommy about it.” Tommy looked up at the mention of his name, giving Gordon a look of quiet reassurance, before going back to cooking. Gordon appreciated the support. 

Even if he couldn’t help completely right now, he still appreciated it.

“What are you waiting for? Spill!” Bubby took a sip of their coffee, looking impatient as they sounded. Some of the coffee from their cup spilled on the floor with how they were holding it, which they looked down at in surprise annoyance and then pure embarrassment. They sat down at the table quickly, looking increasingly embarrassed. Gordon snorted, which earned him a glare. “Well? You’re holding me in suspense, you know. It’s driving me mad!”

“I can’t just… say it immediately!” Gordon protested immediately in his own defense. “It’s- it’s hard to talk about man…”

“Take as much time as you need, Gordon!” Dr. Coomer declared with a big smile, as patient as he always is. “Don’t listen to them- patience is not one of their virtues..” Dr. Coomer gave Bubby a look, shaking his head at him. 

“What? It’s not my fault he procrastinates on topics he doesn’t want to talk about… soon enough he won’t know what he was going to say...” Bubby muttered out, looking resigned. “I- fine… you're right…”

Bubby was right usually, but right now Gordon just… didn’t know how to say it without freaking them out immensely. Because he knew they would freak out. 

Gordon quickly went over what he had to tell them, feeling uncomfortable with every second that passed. Feeling less and less confident to tell them with each passing second. Just say it Gordon! He yelled at himself, beginning to feel it was best to just say it and get it over with. Just say it quickly and it’ll be over…. he told himself. Like it was ever that easy. 

“Y- You remember Benrey’s boss fight, and how he… uhm... ‘died’?” Gordon fumbled with his thumb, hoping that they didn’t react too negatively to the news.

“I remember it quite well!” Dr. Coomer’s cheerful expression fell into a grimace immediately as he seemed to recall the fight. “It wasn’t an easy fight, that’s for sure! But we prevailed… and then we went to Tommy’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese! The arcade games were a delight!” The old man pumped out his fists, looking excited as he sounded. “I won ALL of them, you know.” Dr. Coomer said matter-of-factly. Gordon didn’t have a hard time believing him.  
  
“What does that have to do with anything?!” Bubby exclaimed.

They shut their mouth, muttering something about Chuck E. Cheese and how it doesn’t even have good pizza. Just mediocre. Not good enough for their taste, and honestly doesn’t even deserve to be eaten by them. Egotistical as always. “Harold… shut up. Let’s not talk about this, I’m not awake enough to talk about Chuck E. Cheese..” Was Chuck E. Cheese a sore subject for them? Why was that…? Gordon felt like a storm was about to roll over. A very violent and fire fueled storm.

“Oh you are very much awake for this Bubby! You're just jealous I won against you in the fighting games!” Dr. Coomer accused proudly with a challenging grin that made him look like he would fight a bear with only his fists. Gordon had a feeling he COULD fight a bear with only his fists, and WIN without a scratch on him. 

“I am the BEST at Tekken!” Dr. Coomer declared with a pointed finger. He was grinning widely.

This seemed to be a sore subject Gordon assumed it would be, igniting an angry spark in the other old man. Oh boy. “No I’m not! Shut up!” Bubby crossed their arms with a huff that sounded like a growl of anger. “And excuse me I’M the best at Tekken, I just went easy on you!” Their hair was starting to smoke. 

Uh oh… this could get bad. 

“Y-Yeah… Chuck E. Cheese… pizzaaaa…..” Gordon laughed with concern, feeling extremely exasperated and worried about what he was witnessing. Stress… so much stress. He sighed and rested his head on the table, ready to watch the two argue back and forth. His fate was already in order. He knew it was coming and he could do nothing to stop it. About Chuck E. Cheese arcade fighting games, Tekken, of all things. What was this day coming to? 

Tommy gave him a sympathetic glance, which made Gordon groan with annoyance and even more shame, burying his face into his arms. They just…. they couldn’t stop arguing over who was better at fighting arcade games. Gordon was going to have to interrupt them soon. Which, he was dreading the principal unfortunately. 

These two were like a bickering married couple in the flesh. Well- they WERE a bickering soon to-be-married couple in the flesh, if he had to be specific about it. The wedding was pretty soon and… Shit. He would have to go shopping with Joshua for the wedding, pick out an outfit. And Benrey, if he stayed in his house. Wait no. No no no... he was NOT staying here, if he had any say on it. No way, no how. Nope. But he could deal with that matter when he came to it, and if that happened. Right now… he had more pressing matters. 

Like telling these two about Benrey being alive. Yep, that’s what he was SUPPOSED to be talking about, not Chuck E. Cheese, not about Benrey staying at his house. His brain was out of it today. Gordon fidgeted with his cup, waiting for them to calm down, which they were doing the complete opposite of that. He couldn’t keep it in anymore. 

“Guys please- Benrey is not dead. He’s… he’s back- from the dead.” And with it finally out of his chest, Gordon smacked his face onto the table. Ow.

“You are- you are both very good at fighting games!” Tommy joined in the conversation with a cheerful and matter-of-fact tone, looking as exasperated as Gordon was. Glad to have someone who understood how exhausting the two could be sometimes. Tommy was a saint when it came to the rest of the team, Gordon included. He felt like they all take him for granted sometimes. He was really glad Tommy was here.

“I’ll have you know Tommy, I am much better than H- WHAT! What did you just say?!” Bubby exclaimed in shock, spitting out some of their coffee in their shock. The argument had finally stopped. Finally… it was over and now a whole new problem was at Gordon’s metaphorical doorstep. “Benrey is what?! Are your ears screwed on right?”

“Tommy you should know that I am the ONE who is- Ah!” Dr. Coomer pauses in shock, a hand on his chin in thought as Gordon lifts his head from the table to see their reactions. “Benrey is… back? Hmm…” Dr. Coomer frowned, looking worried and somewhat startled too. “I wouldn’t put it past him if he was able to come back… he CAN respawn after all. May I ask.... where he is right now?” His hands were even more clammy than before, Gordon noted. He had to reassure them.

“He’s playing a video game on my PS4. Really into the game, last time I checked. I... uh gave him some clothes that were more comfortable than his security outfit. Did you know he slept with that shit on?” Gordon told them with a nervous smile, thinking about the game Benrey was playing. It was… an interesting choice, to be honest. He had thought Benrey would have wanted to play Heavenly Sword or something like that. 

But his PS3 was in storage right now, so he probably wouldn’t have found it anyway if he tried. And… Gordon didn’t have that game. Maybe Gordon would bring it out for him… some other time. Buy him that game he wanted to play so much. 

Bubby and Dr. Coomer gave some kind of knowing look to each other, smirking in some sort of… agreement? For what, he didn’t know. Then the two looked to Tommy, who gave the same knowing look they had, Tommy himself smiling eagerly. What…? Gordon was officially utterly confused. Were they secretly communicating telepathically? For what reason did they have to… Gordon opened his mouth to ask what they were doing, before he snapped his mouth shut. Probably wasn’t that important. They could give each other secret looks if they wanted. But… that was weird. Really weird.

“Of course he is…” Bubby snorted, not looking surprised at all by the fact. “He loves that game system, considering how he wouldn’t fucking stop talking about it…” Bubby rolled their eyes, taking a hesitant sip of their coffee. “I’m assuming he’s harmless, the bastard probably doesn’t have the heart to try to kill us again.”

“I would think the same! Surely he doesn’t…. want to get revenge on us? It would be very odd of him to try!” Dr. Coomer looked concerned, but amused and… saddened in one mixing bowl of emotions. “I hope he’s alright… dying is quite hard...” He looked like he knew how that felt. Gordon wasn’t going to ask. He would never ask such a question.

Bubby nodded in agreement. “He’s a dumbass but not that much of a dumbass.”

“He… he doesn’t want to harm us or get revenge at all. Benrey expressed that clearly as he could...” Gordon murmured as his thoughts drifted. He didn’t trust the guy, nor forgive him just yet, but he did know that he wasn’t about to harm them seriously. That much he knew.

“Good. I would have to beat his ass otherwise!” Bubby demonstrated by bursting their hand into flames with a grin. Which was not something you should do indoors, in the kitchen no less. There were fire alarms installed in here and everything. But Bubby usually never listened when Gordon told them they were a living fire hazard, so telling them not to was like telling a dog not to bark. They were just going to do it anyway, no sense in that.

Dr. Coomer clapped enthusiastically. “As would I!” He threw his fists out, almost knocking the entire not empty soda can off the table and onto the floor. Which would have made a mess and Gordon was not ready to deal with both a burning kitchen and soda spills. 

“Please don’t-” Gordon sputtered out, “-please don’t do that in the kitchen!” He said in a distressed panic, waving his hands frantically to get them to stop. Which only made them do it even more, if that was even possible. The two of them were hard to handle, even if they meant well. And they certainly meant well. Did not go well with his anxiety some days, but Gordon had learned long ago how to deal with the two. It wasn’t too hard, when he knew what to do to keep them from racking up the bills.

“Oh.. whatever…” Bubby’s hand was now flame-less and smoking, looking annoyed, if not disappointed. “When are we eating? I’m fucking hungry here Gordon!” They complained, slamming their hands on the table like a cranky child. He was even more cranky than Joshua when he was in a bad mood. And that was a rare achievement to have. Sorry Joshua…. 

“In a minute, In a minute!” Gordon laughed with a breath of relief, fiddling with the handle of his coffee mug, which was now completely empty. “Now that I’ve told you- I can go get Benrey, and you can eat. You’re so impatient.” He waved his hand with a fond smile.

“It comes with old age Gordon...” Bubby shrugged with a smirk. Looks like he was in a better mood, which was… good. Very good. “You should know that.” 

“A-” Gordon opened his mouth to retort, but immediately decided against it.

“Is... he joining us for breakfast?” Dr. Coomer asked as he drank his soda in one gulp. Why did he do that? 

“I hope not… we’ve got enough chaos in this goddamn place as it is!” Bubby for all of their complaints, didn’t look like they minded all that much. “But if he does, oh well.”

“He is…” Gordon scratched the back of his head as he stood up, putting the cup in the sink. Looks like the food was pretty much done. Breakfast was going to be chaotic and messy, he could already feel it in his goddamn bones. “Hope that’s… alright?” He felt unsure, even now. Even though he knew that they wouldn’t mind. Benrey wasn’t going to ruin breakfast or anything, with how chaotic it already usually was. If anything, Benrey would barely add to it. Gordon kinda missed their… little jokes and teasings. Only a little bit though. Plus, he’d never admit that he did.

Bubby grumbled some more. “I don’t mind.”

“Of course, Gordon! It’d be a delight to see him again!” Dr. Coomer was, of course, delighted as he said he was. “It’s been so long since we last saw him!"

 _Yeah, trying to kill us and all..._ Gordon thought bitterly, as he looked away from the kitchen table. Fighting the alien hadn’t been fun at all…. he remembered it clearly. Anxiety-inducing and damn terrifying was what it was. Especially when you vividly relive it in your dreams. He still had nightmares about it, where some nights where he’d stare at the ceiling after one and being unable to breath properly, he was so spooked by the night terror. 

Gordon shook himself out of his thoughts. He didn’t need to dwell on previous nightmares. Last night’s nightmare was already fresh on his mind. He didn’t need more. “That’s good- I was…. a bit worried about that.” 

Gordon looked at the counter and then to Tommy. ”Tommy? Is it all done?” 

“Yep, the food’s done!” Tommy with a thumbs up.

“I’ll… go get Benrey then- you can get your food already, don’t wait for us.” Gordon left the three of them to their own devices, heading to his room. 

This was going to be… tiring. He could feel it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's any errors (like anything out of character, spellings errors and grammar) please let me know! I kinda rushed to post this (well, didn't rush, I stalled for a long time to post it). I doubt there's many, because I combed through everything as best I could. 
> 
> Gordon's got a lot going on with him (trauma, nightmares and stress, and Benrey appearing are kinda mixing together in one awful bowl of muck), we'll get to a good point with him, promise!


End file.
